JENKINS: North County's 2013, through a shot glass darkly

Pols Gone Wild (on the Q.T.) — Yes, 2013 is a non-election year, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be underwater angling for position.

This year, Supervisor Bill Horn will have to make the same life decision Pam Slater-Price did in 2011: Do I retire after a great run or defend my seat one last time?

San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond will be rounding up support this year, ready to roll in 2014 whether Horn bows out or not. Desmond, a Republican with a good San Marcos story to tell, has that lean and hungry look.

Is Horn up for one last fight? He’s a famous early fundraiser. That will be the poker tell. No big money, no 2014 campaign.

By this time next year, insiders in Encinitas should know which way the wind is blowing in the city’s first real mayoral race.

The new council majority, led by appointed Mayor Teresa Barth, is off to a good start, bending over backward to be civil. But at some point this year, rifts will develop, tempers will flare, interest groups will line up.

Councilwoman Kristin Gaspar, a part of the defunct Stocks/Bond majority, is tougher than she looks on TV. Either Gaspar or ally Councilman Mark Muir will run for mayor (they wouldn’t run against each other) against Barth or Councilwoman Lisa Shaffer, who also wouldn’t run against each other. By this time next year, we’ll know who has the fire in the belly for the top job.

In Escondido, Democrat Olga Diaz will be setting up a 2014 campaign against Republican Mayor Sam Abed, a potentially epic battle for the public identity of the city. You could sell tickets for those debates.

Over in Vista, Judy Ritter is a likable and familiar mayor, but watch out for Councilman John Aguilera, a young, but well-known and capable, Republican Latino who will decide it’s time for him to move up the ladder.